ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Wofford volleyball team completed a stretch of seven matches in five days with a four-set loss (15-25, 25-23, 20-25, 22-25) at UNC Asheville, Tuesday evening from UNCA's Justice Center.
 
Wofford (7-9) got off to a sluggish start by committing nine attack errors and hitting .000 in a first set that UNCA cruised through. The trend continued into the second as the Bulldogs took a quick 10-4 lead and were closing in on a two-set advantage at 17-11. However, the Terriers started to pull it together and came back to take their first lead of the set at 23-22, finishing the rally with two kills from senior Taylor Baird.
 
Just when it appeared the Terriers were clicking offensively, they came back to hit .085 with 10 attack errors in the third. A fourth-set hitting percentage of .042 that included 13 attack errors followed, allowing UNC Asheville (3-12) to run away with just its third win of the season.
 
Freshman Bella Santoro put down a team-high 12 kills, but it came with 10 errors to hit .050. The first-year outside did post her fifth double-double by going for 13 digs. Baird had 11 kills and hit .105, while freshman Alex Holland finished with seven kills (.000) and junior Liz Buterbaugh had eight (.160).
 
The lone Terrier to hit well, at least statistically, was the reigning Southern Conference Freshman of the Week, Danni Densford. The middle hit a team-best .304 with 11 kills, adding two blocks on defense. Freshman setter Molly Mayo joined Santoro with a double-double of 44 assists and 12 digs. Junior Jessica Graham went for a match-high 18 digs.
 
For the Bulldogs, Catherine Fischer, Christine Lakatos and Shelby Erickson all posted 11 kills apiece. They led an attack that hit only .168, but it was good enough to beat the Terriers on an off night that saw them hit .084 with 40 attack errors. Lakatos earned a double-double with 14 digs, as did setter Katie Davis with 33 assists and a team-high 16 digs.
 
Wofford looked slightly out of it to begin Tuesday's night's match. Nine attacking errors in the opening set coupled with just nine kills negated the offense and UNCA took advantage. The Bulldogs hit .227 with only nine kills themselves, but limited their mistakes. Erickson Fischer had three kills apiece and helped UNCA start with five of the first seven points. The lead grew to 14-7 when Wofford let an overpass fall to the ground, forcing Wofford head coach Ron Sweet called his first timeout. It stopped the bleeding momentarily, but three consecutive attack errors toward the end of the set put the outcome out of question.
 
UNCA picked up where it left off and so did Wofford to start set two. The Terriers continued to look out of it and the Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-4 lead – three of Wofford's four points coming off Asheville errors. Two more Terrier attack errors helped the home team take a 17-11 lead and Coach Sweet took a timeout.
 
This time around, the timeout was beneficial. Out of the stoppage, Santoro found the line with a cross-court kill, followed by smashes from Holland and Densford. All of a sudden, Wofford had scored four straight to get within two and put the Bulldogs on their heels. UNCA called time and grew the lead back to 20-15, until kills from Holland, Buterbaugh, Mayo and an ace from freshman Tierney Flaherty earned Wofford its first tie at 20. It went back-and-forth until 22-22, when the Bulldogs were called for a blocking error and Baird followed with a kill to give the Terriers two cracks at the set, which they converted.
 
The second-set comeback ultimately just delayed the inevitable. Wofford got off to a 2-0 start in the third, but then hit a wall. The Bulldogs put together a 5-1 run that included more Terrier attack errors and never surrendered the lead. The Terriers looked poised for another comeback when they rallied to score four of five and cut a 20-15 deficit to 21-19, but more attack errors on wide open looks halted the rally and UNCA took a 2-1 lead.
 
The fourth was close with seven ties and three lead changes that all came in the front end of the set. Two straight blocks put Wofford up 6-4, including a solo block from Densford, but the mistakes once again started happening. The Terriers could not find the boundary lines and a 14-13 set turned into 19-14 in favor of the home team. Again, the Terriers gave it another effort and got to within 21-19, but two serve errors and an attack that landed out of bounds allowed UNCA the victory.
 
The Wofford volleyball team begins Southern Conference play on Saturday, when it travels to Charleston, South Carolina, to battle The Citadel. Game time is set for 3 p.m.